Berlin, Germany – A German federal parliament member, Mahmut Özdemir, has called on his party, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), to adopt a new approach in dealing with voters who support the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
In an interview with the German magazine “Stern”, Özdemir stated, “We must stop putting voters of the AfD in a corner and equating them with the AfD.” He attributed his success in defending his electoral district in Duisburg against the AfD to the fact that the people there “have no fear of the AfD.”
Özdemir, who is also a state secretary in the Federal Ministry of the Interior, emphasized that he believes the people who vote for the AfD are those who were once his and his party’s voters, saying, “These are the people who are frustrated that a success at the SPD always takes ten years.” He cited examples such as an unsanitized bridge and migration issues, stating, “No topic is too big and no topic is too small.”
Özdemir has been critical of his party, saying, “We have perfected the art of telling people why something does not work. We’ve been doing that for years.” He believes the party brings “too few visible success stories to the forefront, which actually change people’s lives.” Additionally, he claims the party no longer speaks in the “common language” of the people.